“Fertilizer Management” Is Correct Critical Thinking, But The World Bank Should Be Thinking Wholes And Not Simply Holes!

The World Bank thinks it has the intelligent internationally implementable initiative against the impending food crisis: “Fertilizer Management.” “Fertilizer?” Or “Fertility?” That is the question!

Juergen Voegele advices on “How To Manage The World’s Fertilizers To Avoid A Prolonged Food Crisis” (22 July 2022, World Bank Blogs, blogs.worldbank.org). In 99 words, Mr Voegele, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, assesses as all-in-all an appropriate approach:

Hidden behind the worst global food crisis in a decade, fertilizer prices have skyrocketed and remain volatile. This poses a serious threat to food security, as the planting season starts this summer. So far, the war in Ukraine has mostly affected countries importing wheat and corn. But many countries, including some major food exporters, are net fertilizer importers. Persistently high fertilizer prices may spread to a broader variety of crops including rice, a staple which has not yet seen war-related price hikes. We must act now to make fertilizers more accessible and affordable to avoid prolonging the food crisis.  

“Fertilizer Management” – That is critical thinking.

Mr World Bank enumerates three broad steps for countries to take:

(1)   “First, countries should lift trade restrictions or export bans on fertilizers.”

(2)   “Second, fertilizer use must be made more efficient.”

(3)   “Third, we must invest in innovation to develop best practices and newer technologies that will help increase output per kg of fertilizer used.”

In response, I Conservative Agriculturist say:

1^st step is not easy – countries exporting fertilizers are bound to protect their farmers above all.

2^nd step is all right. Farmers should prevent the wastage of fertilizers as much as they know how.

3^rd step is problematic – and it will take so much time.

“Fertility Management” – That is holistic thinking.

Even if all those 3 Sustainable Development Steps were taken quite successfully, I agriculturist say “Fertilizer Management” is limited thinking; that approach assumes that fertilizer is the critical factor in agriculture in any country of the world.

Fertility Management is the much more intelligent approach at these critical times – and even in ancient times!

And now I will tell you of one approach to Fertility Management that Mr World Bank has left out:
Regenerative Agriculture (RA).

Artificial or chemical fertilizers, which Mr World Bank has assumed as givens, are degenerative factors:
(1) they poison the soil;
(2) they poison the organisms that help crops grow healthy;
(3) they grow crops that are unhealthy and call for more chemicals for protection;
(4) the crops produce unhealthy foods, what with chemical pesticide residues – and,
(5) above all, with the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that they produce, they are climate change allies!

Organic fertilizers are regenerative because:
(1) they return the natural nutrients that crops need to grow well;
(2) they nourish those soil organisms that nourish crops naturally;
(3) they grow healthy crops that do not need weedicides & pesticides;
(4) they produce healthy foods, with no chemical residues;
(5) they produce zero GHGs – helping fight climate change!

World Bank: We should think Wholes and not simply Holes!@517